


Strike a Match

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blindness, Gen, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, Mind Control, No one knows yet tho, Season/Series 05, Self-Harm, of a sort, shiro whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-28 00:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13892394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: Shiro realizes why his head hurts, and Lance is faced with the reality of responsibility.  Based on art by Littlecofeiart.





	Strike a Match

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cofie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cofie/gifts).



> Check out the original artwork [here](https://littlecofieart.tumblr.com/post/171588969033/blind-shiro-is-nothing-new-to-the-fandom-but-what). Some of the dialogue and actions are taken directly from the comic, and obviously are not mine.
> 
> I recommend looking after the fic, if you want the full effect.

Today ranked firmly on Lance’s list of ‘top ten worst’.

Probably not number one. Their lives were too weird and too chaotic for that. But nearly suffocating had been terrifying in a new and unique way. Everything in his body had said he was okay, that Lance was breathing, except that each gulp of air did less and less. And that was on top of worrying about Allura, worrying about Lotor, worrying about them  _ together. _

So, Lance thought it was pretty reasonable that he’d camped out in his room after. Some 2-player action with Hunk was exactly what the doctor ordered to distract himself from the last few awful hours. If he was lucky, he’d unwind enough that he’d sleep without too many bad dreams.

Except that concentrating wasn’t on the menu either.

There was a low, spiraling noise from the console as his character grew still, and his side of the screen went black. On the other half, Hunk’s character pumped their fist in the air and grinned eagerly at the camera.

Another loss.

“Dude,” Hunk said, elbowing him. “That’s three times now. You barely tried this time. You sure you’re up for this? We can put it down for the night if you want to do something else.”

Lance shrugged, eyes still on the computer. The ‘game over’ text put a bad taste in his mouth at the moment. “No, I want to do this. I’m just- I dunno.”

Scooting closer, Hunk pressed the sides of their arms together. “Still thinking about Allura?”

“No,” Lance mumbled back. He pulled his legs up to his chest and held them there, then peered at Hunk through his short bangs. “Alright. A little. But mostly not.”

Really, Lance was doing a good job of ignoring that. Because thinking about Allura meant wondering where she was, and that meant wondering where Lotor was, and that meant wondering if they were  _ together _ and what they were doing there, and it all made Lance’s stomach try to climb out of his throat.

But there were other things to worry about.

Lance sighed and put down his controller. “You said Shiro was acting weird, yeah?”

“I mean, yeah,” Hunk replied, brows up. “I know he’s gotten annoyed at us before, but he’s never, like, pulled rank or anything. That’s what I like about him, usually. It wasn’t like the Garrison.”

Or Keith at first, either. Lance bit his tongue on that, because Keith had apologized and done better, so they had all moved on. There was enough jealous bile in Lance’s stomach. He didn’t need to add Keith on top of it, right now.

Lance nodded. “Yeah, like that. Or the yelling.” He sighed and dropped his forehead on his knees. “I dunno. When he pulled me away, while you were trying to fix the castle? He said some stuff.”

Immediately, Hunk stilled. “Did he yell at you again?”

“No, not like that.” Lance picked his head up and offered a flash of a smile, pleased that Hunk would defend him against  _ Shiro. _ “The opposite. He said he’d been feeling bad. Off.”

Hunk’s face screwed up. “Oh, is he sick? Hope he didn’t infect the rest of us with it. That would explain his mood, though. He’s been like a sleepy bear, recently. I know that when I’m feeling sick, I just want everyone to shut up and leave me alone, too.”

Had that been what Shiro meant? Lance thought back carefully. “Maybe? He didn’t say he was sick, and if he was, he’d just go in the pods, right? He said his head hurt, though.”

“Hmm.” Hunk’s eyes drifted to the screen, distant as he thought over that. “Do you know if he got checked out by Coran?”

“He didn’t say. But it’s Shiro. He’s kinda private, you know?” Pausing, Lance thought it over. “I don’t really know anything about Shiro. And he never complains about being tired or homesick or any of that stuff.” Had he made a message home? Lance had been distracted when they talked about it, but he didn’t think so. He’d just had a message for Iverson.

Hunk considered that as well. “Yeah, I guess so. I always thought it was ‘cause he’s part robot. Like, he feels no pain.” He made an enthusiastic karate chop motion with his hand. “But I could see that too. Keith’s a little like that, and they’re close. Birds of a feather, I guess. I’m surprised he told you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No! I mean…” Hunk shrugged. “Not that you’re bad to talk to or anything. But it had to be pretty bad for Shiro to be talking about it. What’d he say, exactly?”

Lance closed his eyes, mentally rewinding and trying to play the conversation over from the very beginning. “It started… he asked about when we charged Voltron up on Olkarion. He said he didn’t remember any of that, even though I thought he tried to tell me something in the void. I couldn’t hear him, though, and it seemed to bother him. Then he started… he was stuttering a lot. It was weird. He started over like four times, before admitting that he felt off. Like he wasn’t himself.”

There was a long silence as Hunk mulled that over. “What’d you say?”

“That it might be the oxygen deprivation, and to rest.” Lance frowned, letting out his breath through his nose. “And, I mean, it could have been. But he didn’t remember Olkarion, which was days ago, and he’s been weird since… since Lotor.”

Straightening, Hunk looked down at Lance, brows up. “You think Lotor is in on it?”

“I dunno! He’s just acting weird around him. Giving him his bayard, going against all of us for the coronation thing.” Lance glanced up, trying to squelch the tiny kernel of hope in his stomach. If Lotor was the one doing bad things to Shiro, that would solve two problems at once.

But Hunk frowned, looking unconvinced. “I’m not sure about that, Lance. Lotor’s had all sorts of opportunities to do weird stuff. If anyone was acting weird, it’d be Allura, right?”

True. Dammit.

“He is worse around Lotor, though,” Hunk continued. “On missions he’s way more normal, but when we’re arguing about strategy is when he gets all…” Hunk made claws with his fingers and mimed scratching.

So maybe?

Ugh, Lance didn’t know.

“I just don’t know what to say to him,” Lance admitted. “You’re right. It’s weird for Shiro to say something to us. To anyone who’s not Keith. But he picked me, and I don’t know what to tell him. He has to have thought about going to Coran. What else is there? What if-” His voice cracked nervously, and he had to clear his throat. “What if last time they got him, they, like… experimented on him. And now he’s hurting.”

Hunk’s eyes went wide with horror, and the blood drained from his face. “Oh, man,” he whispered. “Poor Shiro. But he doesn’t even remember again.”

“Exactly! Who knows how they messed with him. Like, cutting him open and all that.” Lance could just picture Shiro strapped to a table, scared and trying to resist as a Galra with a big head and bigger eyes brought down a huge saw, like in those corny alien movies he wasn’t supposed to watch as a kid.

“I- I don’t know,” Hunk admitted. “Lotor might know more, but if he’s involved somehow I don’t want to say anything to him. We can ask Allura and Coran? Or Matt! He knows a lot about weird stuff the Galra are up to, ‘cause he did all the rebel base stuff. He might know.”

Slowly, some of the tension melted out from Lance. Even just having Hunk there to brainstorm was a huge relief. It wasn’t just him second guessing himself, and wondering what Shiro was thinking talking to  _ Lance. _

Just the other day, he’d been telling Allura he wanted Shiro to notice how far he’d come. But now that he had it, the responsibility and weight of it was crushing. Everything Shiro carried around was so heavy, and Lance wasn’t sure anymore he knew how to help.

Was this how Keith felt? No wonder he bolted.

Lance opened his mouth-

_ “AAAAHHHH!” _

Lance got to his feet in a flash, already tense for a fight. That was a scream of pain, pure and simple.

And it had been Shiro.

“What was that?” Hunk asked, startled and breathless, as he climbed to his feet.

Without waiting for him, Lance set off at a sprint. The scream had sounded close, and it had come from the right.

“Lance!” Hunk called after him. “Wait, you don’t know-”

But Lance ignore the warning as his eyes snapped onto the partially open door to the group showers. He bolted in, then paused.

Shiro was standing in front of a mirror, head down, hand up like he’d just been rubbing over his forehead.

“Shiro! What happened?” Lance called, a mix of fear and relief in his voice. From that noise, he’d expected to find Shiro bleeding out somewhere. He braced himself on the door frame as he tried to calm his breath and heart. “You screamed. Are you…?”

Shiro still didn’t turn around. But now, as Lance steadied, he could see the tremors running through him.

“She was watching us.”

What? She who? Allura? What was he talking about?

“The witch,” Shiro continued, without prompting. His tone was dulled, and he still hadn’t dropped his hand. “She was using my eyes to spy on us.”

_ What? _

Lance took a deep breath to answer. But when he did, he got a nose full of an odd scent.

It smelled like something was cooking in this bathroom. On top of it, there was a hint of something acrid. One Lance recognized from childhood bonfires - burnt hair.

“S-Shiro?” Lance’s arms fell to his side as his stomach spiraled down to his feet.

Beside him, he heard Hunk’s solid footfalls. “Is Shiro okay?”

Lance didn’t answer, not yet.

“I had to do something.” Shiro said. Finally, he started to turn, head still tilted down.

As his face came into view, Lance’s feet nearly gave out.

Shiro’s face, from the top of the scar up, was raw, exposed, weeping red. Edges of it were blackened and charred in a strange pattern, like ribbons looping up and down his forehead. All of it crossed his closed eyelids, and both of them seemed to have been sealed shut. Parts of the lashes and brows were missing, and Lance realized that was the source of the burnt hair. There were wet tracks down Shiro’s cheeks, but those must have been from before. There was no way Shiro was able to cry right now, much as he might want to. Not with his eyes in such a state.

How had-

Finally, Lance realized why Shiro’s hand had been up like that.

He did this to himself.

“I felt her anger. We don’t have much time,” Shiro said. His tone was calm, horrifically normal in contrast to the wounds.

All Lance could do was stare. He heard Hunk still behind him, and then quietly gag.

“Lance?” Shiro called. He straightened, his tone still eerily steady. But then another shiver ran through him, and his expression shifted to worry. A hiss of pain escaped him as his brows moved, and he had to catch himself on the sink. He tried to take a step forward, but it was tentative, unsure.

Because he’d  _ burned his eyes shut.  _ With the Galra hand.

Shiro opened his mouth, but nothing came out but breath. It was shaky, pitched up. Terrified. “Lance?” He tried again, his tone rising with an edge of panic. “Are you there?”

The things Shiro asked of him were so heavy.

But Lance was the Red Paladin, now. He’d wanted this responsibility, and now it as time to step up and be the right hand.

“Yeah,” Lance called back, his voice cracking. “I’m- I’m coming closer. It’s okay, it’s just me. And Hunk.” He glanced back, but Hunk was still staring at Shiro in open horror. Pressing forward, he took Shiro by the left elbow. The first touch made him flinch, but then Shiro settled, his head still tilted down.

What now?

Lance shot Hunk a panicked look, which seemed to finally knock him back into sense. “I’ll get Coran,” he breathed. “He’ll get a pod ready.”

“No!” Shiro barked, making them both jump. “Listen to me! Haggar was seeing through me. She- she left. When it hurt. But she’ll come back. I couldn’t stop her by just closing them. My head kept hurting until…”

“What are you-” Hunk’s eyes widened again as realization struck.

A dark, sick feeling bubbled in in Lance. Shiro had said his head hurt. He’d said he didn’t feel like himself. Lance had taken that as the phrase, but if Haggar was in his head, he might mean it  _ literally. _

“Get Coran anyway,” Lance called, voice hardening. “Not for the pod. Bandages. This is going to get infected soon.”

Hunk nodded, relieved for the direction. “Right. Yeah.” He glanced once more at Shiro, his eyes brimming with tears, and then he bolted.

So that was good, but now Lance was dealing with this alone.

“We’re going to walk, okay?” Lance said, voice gentle. “Little steps at a time. I’ll tell you if you’re about to hit something. Trust me.”

“I do,” Shiro replied, a whisper as raw as the skin of his face, and one that sounded like it hurt just as much. “I do.”

***

“So what do we do?” Pidge asked. She leaned sideways into her brother’s loose grip, eyes locked onto Shiro.

Shiro’s head twitched in her direction, a frown cutting across his face. His head was down, eyes now covered with clean, neat bandages, courtesy of Coran. Pidge’s headphones were looped around his neck. A precaution he had demanded, ‘for when the witch comes back.’

Just looking at his face, Lance would have thought he was astonishingly calm, given the circumstances. But both of his hands were wrapped around Shiro’s left, and he could feel the tension and the tremors running through him. Every few seconds, Shiro would squeeze, then back off almost immediately. Over and over, especially when someone spoke.

“I’m not sure,” Allura replied. She hovered by Shiro’s other side, giving the metal hand wide berth. They all were, after seeing the kind of damage it could do to someone. It wasn’t fair to Shiro, but Lance could barely stand to look at the metal fingers right now. Even though it had been washed, Lance felt like it still had to be covered in blood and burnt skin.

Swallowing hard, Shiro’s head jerked to follow Allura’s voice instead. “This break isn’t going to last long,” he warned, for probably the fifth time. His hand shook, then squeezed again. “I don’t know how to keep her out for good. But she can’t stay.”

“I-” Matt cleared his throat. His face was deathly pale as he looked over Shiro’s damaged face. “Are you sure about the pod? We can put a blindfold on you instead. You don’t have to do this, but if it heals for too long…”

Shiro shook his head, then winced. “No. It’s not just watching. She’s pushing. I haven’t been myself. My head keeps hurting until I do the right thing. Like fly Lotor to the Kral Zera.”

Well, that explained a hell of a lot. How had they all missed that? No wonder Shiro had been so short tempered. Their resistance had been hurting him, and he didn’t understand why.

Across the room, Lotor sat up straighter, brows furrowed. He looked a little hurt, head tilted forward defensively. It probably wasn’t fun to find out the support was because someone was forced to do it. “That makes no sense.  Why would the witch have you do such a thing?”

“To get you close to kill you?” Hunk guessed. “She had Sendak there. Or to capture Voltron or the Black Lion.”

Coran crossed his arms. “And the Black Bayard?”

Shiro sighed and nodded. “That too. I’d been having headaches before, but that afternoon was when they got bad. And constant.”

Flinching back, Lotor looked away and visibly ground his teeth.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Allura asked, leaning forward earnestly. The effect was wasted on Shiro, but it tugged on Lance’s heart strings. “Did you not believe we would help you?”

“It didn’t feel important.” When everyone immediately started to protest, Shiro flinched and curled in on himself. “I have headaches a lot. Because of…” He trapped off and tapped his nose, finger tracing the scar.

Slumping, Coran nodded. “It’s true. He’s asked me about medication before. We thought it was stress at first, until I did some scans.  The changing pressure of flying often causes him problems.”

Shiro inclined his head toward Coran’s voice. “Other things hurt, too. Old wounds. It’s never been worth complaining over.” He straightened, like someone jammed steel up his spine. “It’s never affected my performance until now. But now that it has, we need to figure out what to do. The rest of it could come later.”

Denial was on the tip of Lance’s tongue, but he swallowed it back. Shiro being in constant pain was important now, but not as important as Haggar in his head and driving his actions.

“It must be some form of magic,” Allura murmured. “I may be able to do something about it. We’re still close to Oriande. If we can solve this problem anywhere, it’s here.”

“But Shiro can’t go there,” Hunk pointed out.

Lotor nodded. “And if he could, he should not. Haggar must already know the location. We must defend it from her when she arrives. But he cannot learn more than that, because she will.”

Right. Lance had barely started to wrap his mind over how much data was compromised. It was a good thing the Blade had been scarce recently. If not, Haggar would know about a terrifying number of members. That wasn’t even touching rebel fleet movements and information, and tons of information about Olkarion.

Shiro was the Black Paladin, and co-leader of the coalition. He was one of the center pins of information. And he’d been thoroughly compromised without any of them having any idea.

What were they supposed to do?

“I can’t fly Black,” Shiro said quietly. “We need to call Keith. In the meantime…” He trailed off, waiting for someone to finish.

There was the slide of metal on leather. When Lance looked up, he froze at the sight of Lotor’s sword, nearly glowing in the light of the med bay. “I believe I’ve seen something like this before,” Lotor said, each word heavy. “I know of only one solution. I would not ask any of you to do this, so I can-”

“No!” Allura slammed both hands down on the counter. The noise and shout made Shiro jump, head darting back and forth like he was instinctively looking for the cause. “Absolutely not! You will not harm him!”

Lotor’s grip tightened on his bayard, his teeth pressed together tightly. “I do not relish this, Princess, but to let him live is to put the rest of the war at risk. Haggar already knows far too much. We cannot let her continue to know our every secret! You know how much I could tell you about the Empire. Imagine the reverse.”

Unfortunately, Lance was. Worse, Haggar was  _ smart. _ They hadn’t realized at all that they had a leak, yet. Who knew how it would bite them in the ass?

“That does not mean we execute him!” Allura shot back. She stepped forward, placing herself between Shiro and Lotor. “We can keep the headphones on him.”

Shiro’s head picked up, following Allura’s movement. “I can’t be trusted to keep them on,” he admitted, back to that steady, calm tone. But his hand squeezed Lance’s. Painfully so, though Lance refused to say so. “It only takes one slip. To give into the pain for just a second. I’d break eventually. Haggar knows my limits.”

Looking across the room, Lance caught Hunk’s gaze. His eyes were just as wild with pain and confusion.

When they’d been discussing earlier how Shiro was reserved, neither of them had asked why. It was just how Shiro was.

But faced with the reality, Lance was terrified. He didn’t want to know what could make Shiro sound so hopeless. Like he’d been hollowed out by the very witch who was using him now.

To see Shiro, normally so calm, so in control, so  _ positive, _ brought down like this-

This was what Haggar did to people.

“Again, I will not ask you to do this,” Lotor said. He took another step forward, his gaze pure sympathy. He was firmly in her space, but Allura didn’t yield. “I understand this pain. Truly, I do, and I wish you never had to experience it. Please, go outside. Let me take care of this.”

A staff jabbed into Lotor’s chest, pushing him back a foot. Matt stepped up next to Allura, his shoulders set. “You heard the Princess. She said no. This isn’t your decision to make.”

“It’s Shiro’s,” Lance blurted.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“It is,” he insisted. “Shiro’s going to do what he thinks is the right answer, no matter what. We’ve proven that before. So let’s ask him.”

Shiro’s hand squeezed Lance’s again, this time more loosely. It was in thanks, and Lance’s chest swelled despite the horrible situation. He’d made the right call.

“We can’t let me just sit around,” Shiro said. “That’s too dangerous. I know this place too well, and even without my sight I can still pass on information. The most important thing is to stop Haggar from learning more, and I can’t be trusted to be honest about when she’s in my head. I don’t think I can be.” He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “However that happens, I’m okay with it.”

“No,” Pidge cried, stepping forward. Her face was tense, a tell-tale sign that she was trying not to cry. “Shiro, no. We just got everyone back. We’re not killing you. We’re not!”

Hunk swallowed hard and managed a thin smile. “Yeah, we need you. We just need to figure out how to get Haggar out. Besides, what’s gunna happen if we tell Keith, ‘Hey, sorry, Shiro had to die, Haggar was using him. That’s cool, right?’ He’d kill us all back.”

“Keith would understand,” Shiro said, though there was a hint of hesitation.

Lance snorted. Loudly.

For the first time, the slightest hint of a smile flickered over Shiro’s lips. “Maybe not immediately.”

“We don’t need Shiro dead. We just need him contained and asleep until we can find a solution.” Coran stood up as well, hands folded at his back. “We put the pod on the stasis setting, rather than healing. It can keep you for at least ten thousand years, if need be. You’ll be fine until we can figure out a solution.”

Hope bloomed in Lance’s chest, dragging a smile out of him. “Yeah! Then you won’t even have to wait around. You’ll just fall asleep, then wake up totally fixed.”

Shiro stilled, his head tilted up toward Coran.

He didn’t look thrilled at the idea.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Allura declared. She whirled around again, the full intensity of her stare locked on Lotor. “Does that suit you?” She asked, voice still sharp.

Lotor’s grip tightened, but he sheathed his sword. “I told you, I do not wish to do this. I am in full support of any solution that does not involve executing the Black Paladin.” He glanced at Shiro over the top of Allura’s head, his gaze… not quite soft. He didn’t look at anyone but Allura softly. But not as hard, either.

He’d had Shiro’s unwavering support, at least for a time. Even if it was for a terrible reason, beyond his control, Lance suspected that Lotor appreciated it anyway. As he should. It was the reason he was alive at all, much less emperor.

Glancing at Shiro again, Lance squeezed his hand gently. “Shiro? Is there a problem with that?”

Shiro tilted his head toward Lance instinctively. He opened his mouth, then shook his head.

By now, Lance could identify that lie. So he squeezed again. “If you think there’s a problem, you should say so.”

“No problem. Just-” Shiro swallowed hard. “Just a question. Will it be cold?”

Allura’s shoulders slumped. “Oh, Shiro,” she murmured.

Right. That ice planet. Shiro probably wasn’t too fond of the cold after that.

“Just for a moment,” Coran offered, voice gentle. “Like a cool breeze on a brisk evening. Then you sleep, and you don’t even dream.”

Shiro relaxed minutely and nodded his head. “Thank you for explaining,” he said, formal, steady. Hiding again, turning his head from his own weakness.

“We should do it soon,” Matt admitted. “Before she’s back in your head.”

“Agreed.” Shiro pushed off his chair, standing tall. If Lance hadn’t been able to see the bandages, he wouldn’t have known Shiro was affected at all. Now, that ability to hide his pain and weaknesses had a terrifying new aspect that sent a shiver up Lance’s spine. “Now?”

Pidge made a grumpy noise, stomping her way forward. But she didn’t look that upset, so it was probably for Shiro’s benefit. He still startled when she wrapped her arms around him. “Goodbyes first.”

“I’ll just be sleeping,” Shiro replied gently. He tugged on his left hand until Lance let go, and he could use it to return the gesture. His right arm stayed limp by his side. “No need for goodbyes.”

“For a while, though.” Hunk stepped forward next. He learned from the example, tapping Shiro first before adding to the hug. “We’ll miss you, and we’ll get you back soon.”

Matt went next, pulling Shiro into a tight hug and murmuring something lowly to his ear. It made Shiro chuckle, honest and startled, so Lance throughly approved.

Then Coran stepped up, tugging on his lapels. “I’ll warn you now, I’m a championship level hugger.”

“What does that mea-”

With that, Coran grabbed Shiro and picked him up completely off the ground, twirling him once. Shiro was so surprised he could only yelp, down on the ground before he could even grab Coran back. “It means that. Have a good rest, Shiro.” He tapped him heartily on the shoulder, then stepped out of the way so Allura could pull him into a desperate hug next.

“We will protect you,” Allura said fiercely. “We will always bring you back.”

Shiro curled into her, his shoulders slumping. “Thank you.” Once she was out of the way, he offered his hand out in Lotor’s direction, nearly spot on. “And thank you too. I appreciate you doing the hard thing. If there were no other options, you would have been right.”

For a moment, Lotor just stared. Then he clasped the arm back, the same way Kolivan did. It must have been a Galra thing. “I’ll help keep them safe for you.”

“Thank you. And for the record, I regret how I went about what I did, but I don’t regret the results.”

Lotor nodded, his expression set. But his grip tightened around Shiro’s for just a moment before he let go. “I look forward to meeting you as yourself.”

That earned him a smile. “I do, too.” He considered, then added. “Operation Kuron. I heard someone say that in a memory, once. Do you recognize it?”

“No,” Lotor said slowly, his eyes brightening at the mystery. “But it’s a place to start.”

Then, there was only Lance.

He slowly stood and took Shiro’s hand again. It squeezed his, and Shiro turned to face him.

Lance yanked him into a hug, holding on as tight as he could. “I’ll tell Keith,” he promised. “I’ll handle everything I can. Don’t worry.”

“I trust you,” Shiro replied softly. “Thank you, Lance. I’m glad I spoke with you.”

Pride warred with guilt in Lance’s stomach. He had, but Lance had given him platitudes instead. He’d patted Shiro on the head and told him to wait it out, and now Shiro had burned his own eyes to fix the problem.

What if Lance had believed him? What if he’d taken action then? Would Shiro be able to see right now?

“I’m glad you did too,” Lance replied. He finally stepped back. “Ready?”

“Yes.” Shiro straightened again, shoulders set. “I am.”

Lance helped lead him, though Shiro barely seemed to need it. A few nudges were all it took to get him to the pod. Without his eyes, it was impossible to see the exact moment he slipped off, but he slowly went limp, held up by the pod and not his own power.

For a long time, Lance stood there, watching. Murmurs erupted through the room, as plans were made. Contact Keith, get him home, change rebel plans, fix Haggar’s mess, discover Operation Kuron.

All important. All things Lance needed to help with. He was second in command of Voltron, by rite of lion. Now that their leader was done, he was going to act like it.

But for now, he gave himself a moment to promise.

They were going to fix this. No matter what happened, they would  _ fix this. _

Anything else would be to let Haggar win. And she didn’t get Shiro. Not in any universe.

Lance swore it.


End file.
